ESBAS has been made aware of some register coding for year 11 students that does not follow East Sussex or DFE guidance.

The DFE states that it is expected that all year 11 pupils are in school for all sessions, even during and after the exam period, up to and including the last Friday in June. This year, that was the 29th June. If a pupil does not attend the sessions, they should be marked absent and appropriate safeguarding checks are made, in the same way as for all other students. This guidance means that all year 11 pupils are the responsibility of schools during the school day up to and including the last Friday in June and registers need to be maintained accordingly.

DFE guidance is that the S code should be used ‘sparingly’. Where ‘study leave’ (using the S code) is being used, we would expect that there is a signed agreement between school and parents to be in place, where the responsibility for the pupil is taken by the parent for that period of time, in the same way as there would be for part-time table.

Registers for the 2017-18 academic year should be amended to reflect this guidance.